"The Lewis Hine photos provide an opportunity to educate
young workers, parents and employers on workplace rights and responsibilities,"
said CHSWC Executive Officer Christine Baker. "We're pleased to play
a vital role in the area of young worker health and safety."

Hine took hundreds of photos documenting the harsh working conditions
of child laborers employed in sweatshops, mining, agriculture, canning and
manufacturing in the early 1900s. His powerful photographs were instrumental
in the passage of landmark child labor laws in 1938.

While conditions have vastly improved since then, the fact remains
that over 230,000 young workers are injured on the job every year - twice
the rate of adult workers - underscoring the importance of educating young
workers about their rights, and how to protect themselves on the job.

More than a dozen students from North Hollywood High School
are promoting the Hine photo exhibit on campus, staffing the opening reception,
and acting as photo exhibit docents, while participating in an ongoing service-learning
project with UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH), the
Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Young workers face potential hazards from:

Powered equipment such as box crushers, bakery machines
and forklifts

Late hours, which increase risks and vulnerability
to crime

Long hours, which create potential hazards when working
alone and experiencing frequent contact with the public

Job safety and labor law fact sheets for teens working
in a variety of industries on the Department of Industrial Relations Web
site at www.dir.ca.gov.

Organized by the George Eastman House, the Lewis Hine exhibition is sponsored
by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation,
State Compensation Insurance Fund, UCLA-Labor Occupational Safety and Health
(LOSH) Program, UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Councilwoman
Wendy Greuel, Teamsters Joint Council 42, Los Angeles City Attorney, City
of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and funded in part by a grant
from the California Wellness Foundation. Generous support came from the California
Regional Environmental Community-LA Region, Constitutional Rights Foundation,
Facing History and Ourselves-LA Region, LAUSD Local District B, LAUSD Service
Learning Task Force, LAUSD school board member Marlene Canter, LAUSD Work
Experience Office, and Skirball Cultural Center.